How To Handle Taxes Like A Boss

Taxes? WAIT WHAT? You mean I have to pay someone a portion of the money I earn?

HAHA- that was me.

What can I say? Taxes aren’t my area of expertise- ya know?

Anyway, to get real these were serious questions I had to ask Michael when I ( finally ) started to make a living blogging.

Years ago I was a broke Pure Barre teacher & bartender living paycheck to paycheck until I started to make a living blogging. In the restaurant business, I received a paycheck & taxes were handled for me.

EASY.

Pretty much, I had no idea how complicated taxes where once I had my own business. I WAS SCREWED. In the beginning I paid for everything out of my personal checking account ( don’t laugh ). Also, I hired a developer for 50 bucks a month to build my first website & bought household decor/clothing using my debit card to shoot for The Skinny Confidential.

Things were bleak: I didn’t keep a list of expenses or even know you could potentially save some money by doing so. The idea of taxes was FOREIGN in my world.

Now that TSC is a real company & entity, the days of not paying attention to these details are OVER.

SO! I wanted to write this post to help any bloggers or new business owners save some time/money & INSANE aggravation. When I was dead broke, I had to scrape together every CENT for a proper computer, camera, developer, & props.

But really I had no idea that I could expense this stuff and get a deduction. I KNOW- OUCH.

The problem was I was being written checks & receiving income without documenting & coding the expenses.

LOOK AT IT THIS WAY: If you make 1000 dollars you will owe taxes on the full 1000 dollars. If you code your expenses according to the tax laws (in my case: camera gear, computers, designers, etc) you can then offset your income by deducting those expenses on your tax return.

So if I had $1000 in earnings & $800 in expenses, I would then only pay the taxes on $200. Make sense? LUCKILY it saved me a ton of money when I learned how to do this. Michael had to sit down & show me the benefit of getting this organized…& let’s just say it took a ton of training.

It’s just not my favorite subject in the world.

As a new blogger, vlogger, or influencer starting to make a living with your platform, it’s really important to be SAVVY when it comes to taxes.

Really though, it makes a huge difference financially. We all need to know what we can write off & when: is it our computers? Our camera gear? Clothing? Travel? Software? Designers? A home office? All of this stuff can be classified as expenses & deductions which in turn save us money when it comes to taxes.

Michael always told me if you’re setting up a new business, set up the foundation as if it were already a huge business so that when you get there you aren’t playing catch up.

When I was starting out I wish I would have listened because it took a ton of work to go back & organize years later. It can be really complicated & confusing so when I learned about TaxAct I was so excited to have a platform to help me organize everything QUICKLY & EFFICIENTLY.

TaxAct is a FAB tool to help you figure all the nitty-gritty out. I LOVE IT because they have a product for freelancers & independent contractors ( like bloggers & influencers ).

When I first started out I didn’t know how to take advantage of any deductions or credits so I lost out on a ton of money. If I had a tool to help me organize my expenses & figure out my deductions, it would’ve been a much more seamless situation.

So many of my friends start businesses & have no idea how to file their returns at the end of the year- it costs them a ton of money.

Michael’s TAX TIP:

Did you guys know you can expense out some conferences & seminars? Lauryn just spoke at Create & Cultivate with Kim Kardashian for work. Think about it: you could potentially expense that & claim a deduction. You can get a deduction for doing things that grow your business. So my tip this week is to be smart during tax season, use a tool that can help you get the maximum deductions and credits so that you can hold on to more of your hard-earned money. This works for anyone who is filing their taxes. Even if you are a W-2 employee. TaxAct is also backed by a one hundred thousand dollar accuracy guarantee so you don’t have to stress when filing with them. EASY!

Ok guys: what’s your experience with taxes? Should I do more posts like these? Keep me posted.

You guys, Lauryn is so right and I am so glad she posted about this, creative entrepreneurs always need so much help in this area. I can help you keep your business/life together so when it comes to tax time everything is EASY. I serve as bookkeeper/CPA’s bff and I niche in creatives. Let me know if if anyone needs help/has questions. I know how stressful it can be when you feel like you have no idea where to start, and if I can give any advice it’s keep always business and personal separate (bank accounts, credit cards).

YES!! My husband has been NAGGING me to see who bloggers use for taxes, and I saw your tax guy on your IG story, but didn’t take a screenshot because I for some reason thought I would remember, lol. Do you mind sharing who you go through? I can’t remember if it was Brieman Group, Berman Group? Something along those lines? haha

I’m 26 and am an up & coming blogger (just you wait! haha) but I have a full time job right now and my Dad still does my taxes. While I may have grown up in so many ways, moved states, moved in with a boyfriend of 3+ years, and gotten off my parents health insurance and found a job that gives me my own (Job sucks but it’s a mean to an end until I can get my blog where it needs to be. growing pains of starting is rough but necessary, right?) I somehow still managed to send my father a picture of my W2 this year so he could file my taxes. I think it’s time I take this into my own hands after this post LOL! Thanks for writing a post on this, I love how multi-faceted this community is. 🙂

This is such a great and informative post! I absolutely despise doing my taxes even though I work for a private wealth firm (blog on the side) and deal with tax items all day every day it is still so incredibly boring to me. I love the tip about setting up a business as if it is already a huge business so that you aren’t playing catch up. Such great advice and I also love the fact that it also puts good energy out into the universe about the success of your business. Sending you all the best vibes today and everyday!

I remember when I started working, I really thought that the tax I needed to pay is just small. I was really surprised that it wasn’t the case and that it has its own computation depending on your salary! Nonetheless, your post is really helpful – most especially for people who are new with taxes. Thank you for sharing!

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